LIFEINTHEFUTURE

　　Whatlifewillbelikeinthefutureisdifficulttopredict.It

　　is,however,possibletousemodelstomakeforecastsaboutfuture

　　developments.Onewaytocatchaglimpseofthefutureisto

　　examinesomeofthemajortrendsincontemporarysociety.

　　TRANSPORTATION

　　Currenttrendsindicatethattransportationisbecoming

　　cleaner,fasterandsafer.Publictransportationisalreadywell

　　developedinmosturbanareasofChina.Newtechnologyisbeing

　　usedtomakesurethatthecarstaxis,busesandtrainsweusedo

　　notpollutetheair.Agoodexampleofhowtransportationis

　　changingisthenewmaglevtrain,whichisenvironmentally

　　friendly,energy-savingandtravelsatanamazing430km/h.To

　　ensuresafety,thetrainiscontrolledbyanadvancedcomputer

　　system.Scientistsarealsodevelopingnewfuelsandenginesthat

　　willletustravelwithoutworryingaboutwhetherweare

　　pollutingtheenvironment.

　　BUSINESS

　　Itwillnotbebusinessasusualinthefuture.Manycompanies

　　andconsumershavealreadybegunreformingthewaytheydo

　　business.E-commerce,orbusinessdoneontheInternetisbecoming

　　moreandmorepopularaspeoplediscovertheadvantagesofonline

　　shopping.TheInternetalsomakesiteasierforcompaniestokeep

　　intouchwithcustomersandcompaniesinothercountries.For

　　peoplewhodogoouttoshops,shoppingisnolongerjusta

　　necessity.Ithasbecomeaformofentertainment.Insteadof

　　searchingacrowdedstoreforbasicgoods,suchasfoodand

　　clothes,peoplewanttogotoapleasantmallandcombineshopping

　　withfun.Themallsofthefuturewillbelikesmallcities

　　whereyoucanshop,eat,seeafilmandevendance.Topayfortheir

　　purchases,peoplewillusesmartcards,whichcontainatiny

　　chip,insteadofcash.

　　HEALTHANDMEDICINE

　　Peopleinthefuturewillbeabletoenjoyalongerand

　　healthierlifeandremainactiveeveninoldage.Peoplenoware

　　payingmoreattentiontotheimportanceofahealthydietandan

　　activelife.Theyarecarefulaboutwhattheyeatandexercise

　　regularly.Advancesinmedicalsciencealsoallowustodealwith

　　newdiseases,suchasSARS.Somediseases,forexample

　　smallpox,havealreadybeensuccessfullydefeated.Withabetter

　　understandingofthehumanbody,scientistsandphysicianswillbe

　　abletocuremorediseases.Perhapsmoreimportantly,nes

　　discoveriesingeneticsandbiochemistrymayleadtochangesin

　　thewaydiseasesarecuredandmedicinesaremade.

　　EDUCATIONANDKNOWLEDGE

　　Homeworkwillalwaysbehomework,buttheschoolsofthefuture

　　willprobablybequitedifferentfromwhattheyaretoday.Wecan

　　studyathomebywatchingeducatorsonTVoronacomputer

　　screen.Inthefuture,theremaybemore"schoolsontheair"and"e-

　　schools".Realclassroomswillalwaysbepopular,butdistance

　　educationwillhelppeoplestudfywheneverthehavetimeand

　　wherevertheymaybe.Thewayweviewlearningandknowledgeis

　　alsochanging.Insteadofbeingstu